Pioneer astronomer who built innovative radio telescope, dies

Founder and first Director of The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory Sir Bernard Lovell, 98, has died on August 6, 2012. Jodrell Bank's Lovell Telescope was conceived by Sir Bernard. The landmark in Cheshire, England is an icon of British science and engineering. English physicist and radio astronomer Bernard Lovell (1913 - 2012) with his wife and daughter at Buckingham Palace before receiving his Knighthood, London, 7th February 1961. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Photo: Evening Standard

Sir Bernard Lovell, the radio astronomer who was one of the 20th century's leaders in the age-old effort to understand the secrets of the heavens, died Aug. 6 at his home in the village of Swettenham, England. He was 98.

He would have been 99 on Aug. 31.

His son Bryan Lovell confirmed the death but said he did not know the medical cause.

Much of Bernard Lovell's groundbreaking work revolved around the use of a powerful and innovative scientific instrument, the celebrated radio telescope he built and operated for many years at the Jodrell Bank observatory in northwest England.

Just as stars and galaxies make themselves known by beaming energy in the form of light, they also may reveal themselves by emitting radio waves. Much as the lenses or mirrors of optical telescopes gather visible light, the metal antennas of radio telescopes gather invisible radio waves.

As Lovell was one of the first to show starting in the 1940s, these faint electromagnetic signals from remote reaches of the universe can be collected, analyzed and interpreted to discern basic information about the cosmos.

As one of the foremost figures in radio astronomy since its earliest days, Lovell, an emeritus professor at the University of Manchester, was celebrated in science and beyond. The Jodrell Bank observatory, operated by the university and named for the place where it was built, also has become widely known.

The principal radio telescope at Jodrell Bank was completed in 1957 and has been named for Lovell.

With modifications, it is still used in cutting-edge work, contributing to the understanding of such cosmic phenomena as pulsars, stellar objects whose behavior is linked to Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity.

The technical and administrative details of building and operating his telescope did not cause Lovell to lose sight of the deeper significance of his work.

In 1936, he received a doctorate in physics from the University of Bristol. His early work involved the use of a cloud chamber to detect and study cosmic rays. During World War II, he led a radar development group.